Storage unit for stacking multiple containers with lids

ABSTRACT

A housing for holding a plurality of plastic storage containers in aligned proximity with associated lids in a combined compact, stacked configuration, wherein each of the containers includes a top opening having a common width and length dimension, and a height dimension extending from the opening to a bottom portion of the storage container. Corresponding lids have common width and length dimensions configured for use with the containers for positioning over the container openings. This housing more specifically comprises (i) a lid storage compartment having a bottom wall, side walls and a back wall joined together to define a holding area for a stack of the lids, the lid storage compartment having width and length dimensions slightly larger than the width and length dimensions of the stack of lids, and a height dimension extending along a common axis of the stack of lids that is longer than the stack of the lids to be held therein. A second portion of the housing includes (ii) a container holding area for storing a nested stack of the plastic storage containers along the common axis adjacent to, but separate from the lids.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This application claims priority to Provisional Patent Application No.60/531,356, filed in the United States Patent and Trademark Office onDec. 18, 2003.

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to a storage system formaintaining plastic containers and associated lids in close relationshipto facilitate quick access of the correct lid with a desired container.More particularly, the present invention pertains to maintaining correctsize relationships among a group of plastic containers of different sizewith appropriate lids of correct size.

2. Related Art

The variety of plastic storage containers that can be sealed bypositioning a lid over an opening of the container has proliferated intovirtually every type of application. Perhaps the dominant use of suchstorage containers is the common food container suited for storingleft-over food items in a refrigerator. Because of the variety of sizesneeded for different quantities and shapes of food items, a typicalconsumer buys many different shapes of storage containers to have onhand, thereby permitting timely selection of that container most suitedto food to be preserved. These containers are usually stored on a shelfor in a drawer and become randomly mixed and typically disassociatedwith the proper sized lid. The consumer must then rummage through thevarious containers available, hoping that an appropriate lid can beidentified to seal the food content.

In an effort to assist in maintaining some order to this array, variousconfigurations have been applied to the container and/or lid tofacilitate stacking. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,967,731 illustratesthe concept of stacking the container with attached lid by havingnesting indentations in the lid that enable stable positioning of onesealed container on top of another. This configuration consumessubstantial space, however, because the volume within the containertakes up most of the storage space. U.S. Pat. No. 5,409,126 modified thelid of the container so that it could be inverted in an attachedposition and extend partially into the container volume. This enabled areduction in wasted space because the stacked containers with attachedlids were able to sit within the inverted lid space.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,769,229 introduced the concept of sizing the array oflids and containers so that each common sized container could nestwithin another, with the lids providing a receiving volume that allowedthe bottom of the container to conveniently nest therein. A second setof containers and lids were similarly configured, but with enoughcontainer space to receive the previous smaller nested containers andlids. U.S. Pat. No. 5,799,792 modified this concept by providing anattachment flange at the bottom of each container to enable each lid tobe coupled to its appropriate container. The lid was therefore retainedwith its container, and the various smaller containers could thenconveniently be stored within larger containers in a space-savingconfiguration. This arrangement allowed stacking of a variety ofcontainers with associated lids; however, accessing a particularcontainer size required disassembly of the full array of containers.This nuisance factor leads to spreading the various containers over alarger storage area and wasting valuable storage space. Before long, thelids become disassociated from their containers, and the age-old problemof randomly stored containers and lids returns.

What is needed, therefore, is a system for providing a moreuser-friendly container storage system that provides convenient accessand storage of lids with their respective containers.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It has been recognized that it would be advantageous to isolate a lidstorage section in association with corresponding containers, butseparate lids from the containers to enable multiple stacking of bothcontainers and lids. One embodiment of this invention is represented bya housing for holding a plurality of plastic storage containers inaligned proximity with associated lids in a combined compact, stackedconfiguration, wherein each of the containers includes a top openinghaving a common width and length dimension, and a height dimensionextending from the opening to a bottom portion of the storage container.Corresponding lids have common width and length dimensions configuredfor use with the containers for positioning over the container openings.This housing more specifically comprises (i) a lid storage compartmenthaving a bottom wall, side walls and a back wall joined together todefine a holding area for a stack of the lids, the lid storagecompartment having width and length dimensions slightly larger than thewidth and length dimensions of the stack of lids, and a height dimensionextending along a common axis of the stack of lids that is longer thanthe stack of the lids to be held therein. A second portion of thehousing includes (ii) a container holding area for storing a nestedstack of the plastic storage containers along the common axis adjacentto, but separate from the lids.

Additional features and advantages of the invention will be apparentfrom the detailed description which follows, taken in conjunction withthe accompanying drawings, which together illustrate, by way of example,features of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an elevational, perspective view inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a back side of the embodiment of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a frontal, plan view in accordance with another embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 4 is a frontal, plan view in accordance with another embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 5 shows a plan view embodiment forming a wall unit configuration.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made to the exemplary embodiments illustrated inthe drawings, and specific language will be used herein to describe thesame. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scopeof the invention is thereby intended. Alterations and furthermodifications of the inventive features illustrated herein, andadditional applications of the principles of the inventions asillustrated herein, which would occur to one skilled in the relevant artand having possession of this disclosure, are to be considered withinthe scope of the invention.

As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, a housing 10 is provided for holding aplurality of different sized, plastic storage containers 12, 30, 31 and34 in aligned proximity with associated lids 14, 15 and 32. The housingenables a combined compact, stacked configuration, wherein each of thecontainers of common size includes a top opening having a common width Wand length L dimension, and a height dimension h extending from theopening to a bottom portion of the storage container. The lids also havecommon width and length dimensions configured for use with thecorresponding containers for positioning over the container openings.These lids are stored in a lid storage compartment 13, 17 and 19 havinga bottom wall, side walls and a back wall joined together to define aholding area for the stack of the lids, with each of the lid storagecompartments having width and length dimensions slightly larger than thewidth and length dimensions of the stack of lids placed therein, and aheight dimension extending along a common axis A, B, or C of the stackof lids that is longer than the stack of the stored lids is high.

A container holding area 21, 23 and 25 is provided for storing a nestedstack of the plastic storage containers 12, 30, 31, 34-38 adjacent tobut separate from the lids, along one of the common respective axes A, Band C. This proximate relationship in storage space maintains the usefulassociation between lid and container because of the common alignment ofeach size container with an appropriately sized lid. Storage containersof common opening size are all nested in the container holding areaaligned with the lids, ready for use. Once a container is selected, aproper lid is extracted from the lid storage compartment having a commonalignment A, B or C. Confusion is avoided because the correct lid isreadily accessible in the coordinated storage area. After use, thecontainer is easily nested with the other common containers within thecontainer storage area and the lid restored to its aligned compartment.

The illustrated embodiment will now be discussed in detail. It comprisesa housing 10 that includes sidewalls 16, an intermediate verticaldividing wall 26, a bottom wall 18, a top wall 20, and an intermediatehorizontal dividing wall 24. This configuration forms two verticalstorage areas for containers and lids. Storage areas 13 and 21respectively house narrow containers 12 and lids 14 in a stacked, nestedconfiguration. Maximum use of storage space is enabled because each ofthe containers resides in the contained volume of another storagecontainer. Although five nested containers 12 are illustrated, a dozencan readily be stored when the containers have common dimensions withthe same taper in the container body. In this instance, the containerscould be densely packed. The lids are conveniently segregated above thecontainers in the lid storage compartment 13 and are always ready foruse without need for searching through various sized lids to identifythe correct shape to couple to the container.

Similarly, the second storage area 23 includes containers 30, 31 instacked array. This stack illustrates larger containers of differingdepths. Although the respective dimensions of container openings sizesand lids 15 are the same, container 30 is more shallow than container31. Accordingly, any degree of variation in depth can be accommodated,as long as the total length of the stacked array of containers does notexceed the height of the storage area 23.

Referring to FIG. 2, an array of five containers 34-38 illustrates anembodiment having maximum variety in container depth_(“h1-5”).Specifically, the depth_(h1) of container 34 is the most shallow anddepth_(h5) container 38 is the deepest in volume. Container 35 rests onthe bottom of container 34, and container 36 extends to the bottom of35, etc. In this configuration, the total storage volume of thecontainers is approximately three times the actual volume of the storagearea 25.

As was previously indicated, this stack of containers 33 is larger inopening size than the adjacent stack of containers 12. Accordingly, thelid dimensions in compartment 17 are larger than adjacent lids 14. Auser has no difficulty distinguishing the correct lid to use with acontainer because the array of respective containers 12, 33 and stackedlids 14, 17 respectively have common alignment. The height of the lidstack_(h6) will depend, of course, on the number of containers stored inthe storage area 25 below. Note also that this alignment could behorizontal if desired, as opposed to the vertical orientationillustrated.

FIGS. 1 and 2 depict the configuration wherein the lid storagecompartments 13, 17, and 19 include a bottom wall 24 that cooperateswith side 16 and back walls 28 to form the surrounding enclosure for thestack of lids, except for a forward insert opening for inserting andremoving lids from storage. The container holding areas 21, 23, and 25provide container storage compartments having opposing side walls 16 and22, a back wall 28, and a bottom wall 18 having width and depthdimensions slightly larger than the common width and length dimensionsof the storage container top openings and a vertical length dimensioncorresponding to at least a total length of the nested stack of plasticstorage containers. Wall structure may be plastic, card-board or othersuitable materials. The structure may be solid, mesh, grid-like or anyconfiguration capable of providing container and lid support.

FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate how a plurality of housings can be integrallycoupled in side-by-side array. It will be apparent that the threeintegrated compartments of this embodiment representing stacking axes A,B and C could be configured in other geometries, providing differentcompartment shapes (round, square, rectangular, etc.) as well asdifferent numbers of integrated compartments. The housing could provide360 degrees of access to containers, or it could be configured as anarray of integral compartments forming a storage wall 80 as shown inFIG. 5 providing access from a single side of the housing.

This wall embodiment 80 includes many sizes of containers 82, each withits appropriate lids 84 in coordinated location along a vertical access.It should be noted that some of the containers and lids 86 can bealigned along other directions (such as horizontal) where spaceconfigurations dictate. Such a configuration could be placed against akitchen wall or in a cabinet against a back wall to be out of the way,yet able to keep all the various sized containers organized.

FIG. 3 illustrates a modified version of the invention wherein a singlehousing 40 provides the aligning enclosure for both the lids 42 and thecontainers 44. In this embodiment, the housing comprises side walls 46,a top wall 48, bottom wall 50 and back wall 52. These walls areconfigured to provide a common lid and container storage compartmentslightly larger in length and width dimensions that the stacked array oflids. A disadvantage of this housing embodiment is that the full stackof containers must be moved to easily retrieve a lid. Otherwise, thecommon alignment of lids and containers is maintained in accordance withthe principles of the present invention.

FIG. 4 shows another embodiment wherein the housing 60 comprisesopposing side walls 62, a bottom wall 64 and a top wall 66. The lidstorage compartment 67 is formed by the opposing sidewalls, bottom walland top wall of the housing. A stacked array of lids 68 is convenientlystored in this lid compartment 67. The container storage area is formedabove the top wall of the lid storage compartment, and is bounded on thesides by opposing sidewalls 62 b and second opposing sidewalls 62 c(back wall not shown). This configuration simply allows the containersto be stacked in the open volume 72 formed between the respectivesidewalls 62. In this embodiment, the bottom wall of the containerstorage area also comprises the top wall of the lid storage compartment.A housing as defined in example 4, wherein the container storagecompartment further includes a top wall that cooperates with the bottom,side and back walls to form a surrounding enclosure for the nested stackof containers, except for a forward insert opening for inserting andremoving containers from storage.

It is to be understood that the above-referenced arrangements are onlyillustrative of the application for the principles of the presentinvention. Numerous modifications and alternative arrangements can bedevised without departing from the spirit and scope of the presentinvention. While the present invention has been shown in the drawingsand fully described above with particularity and detail in connectionwith what is presently deemed to be the most practical and preferredembodiment(s) of the invention, it will be apparent to those of ordinaryskill in the art that numerous modifications can be made withoutdeparting from the principles and concepts of the invention as set forthherein.

1. A housing for holding a plurality of plastic storage containers in aligned proximity with associated lids in a combined compact, stacked configuration, wherein each of the containers include a top opening having a common width and length dimension, and a height dimension extending from the opening to a bottom portion of the storage container, said lids having common width and length dimensions configured for use with the containers for positioning over the container openings, said housing comprising: a. a lid storage compartment having a bottom wall, side walls and a back wall joined together to define a holding area for a stack of the lids, said lid storage compartment having width and length dimensions slightly larger than the width and length dimensions of the stack of lids, and a height dimension extending along a common axis of the stack of lids that is longer than a height of the stack of the lids to be held therein; and b. a container holding area for storing a nested stack of the plastic storage containers along the common axis adjacent to but separate from the lids.
 2. A housing as defined in claim 1, wherein the lid storage compartment includes a top wall that cooperates with the bottom, side and back walls to form a surrounding enclosure for the stack of lids, except for a forward insert opening for inserting and removing lids from storage.
 3. A housing as defined in claim 1, wherein the container holding area comprises at least one container storage compartment having opposing side walls, a back wall, and a bottom wall having width and depth dimensions slightly larger than the common width and length dimensions of the storage container top openings and a length dimension corresponding to at least a total length of the nested stack of plastic storage containers.
 4. A housing as defined in claim 2, wherein the container holding area comprises a container storage compartment having opposing side walls, a back wall, and a bottom wall configured with width and depth dimensions to hold a bottom portion of the nested stack of plastic storage containers.
 5. A housing as defined in claim 3, wherein the bottom wall of the container storage compartment comprises the top wall of the lid storage compartment.
 6. A housing as defined in claim 4, wherein the container storage compartment comprises a single storage container integrated with the lid storage compartment.
 7. A housing as defined in claim 4, wherein the container storage compartment further includes a top wall that cooperates with the bottom, side and back walls to form a surrounding enclosure for the nested stack of containers, except for a forward insert opening for inserting and removing containers from storage.
 8. A housing as defined in claim 3, wherein the container storage compartment includes a top wall that corresponds to the bottom wall of the lid storage compartment.
 9. A housing as defined in claim 1, further comprising a plurality of housings integrally coupled in side-by-side array.
 10. A housing as defined in claim 8, wherein the plurality of housings have differing dimensions to enable storage of a plurality of containers and lids having differing dimensions.
 11. A housing as defined in claim 1, further comprising a nested stack of containers positioned within the container storage area and a stack of lids for the containers positioned in stacked array within the lid storage compartment.
 12. A housing as defined in claim 10, wherein the housing further comprises a portion of a shipping container for the nested stack of containers and the stacked array of lids. 